The Orocarni also known as Red Mountains was a mountain range in the far east of Middle-earth beyond Rhûn.
Description
The Orocarni roughly followed the line of the Red Mountains, which had been made by the Valar before Arda was marred and the symmetry was lost in the wars against Melkor. On the western slopes of the Orocarni grew the Wild Wood, near a great waterfall of a river that flowed into the Inland Sea of Helcar where the bay of Cuiviénen lay, where the Elves woke. At their northern edge the Orocarni connected with the Iron Mountains resembling the Blue Mountains in the far west. One of the rivers that arose in the Orocarni flowed into the inland Sea of Rhûn.[1]
History
Four of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves awoke in the range. After the end of the First Age the Orocarni remained, and ran through the center of the land of Rhûn. In the Second and Third Ages, they were home to the Dwarven clans of the Ironfists, Blacklocks, Stonefoots, and Stiffbeards. The Ironfists and Stiffbeards lived in the T-shaped northern half while the Blacklocks and Stonefoots lived in the backwards-C-shaped southern half. It is not explained by Tolkien who lives in the far-north, center-north, center-south, or far-south quarters. However, the most probable theory is that the Stiffbeards lived in the far-northern Orocarni, the Ironfists lived in the center-northern Orocarni, the Stonefoots lived in the center-southern Orocarni, and the Blacklocks lived in the far-southern Orocarni.[citation needed]
During his travels in Middle-earth, Oromë stood under the shadow of the Orocarni and from there he first heard the singing of the Elves in Cuiviénen thus finding the Firstborn of Eru Ilúvatar for the first time.[2]
Concerning Elven folk, the Dark Elves lived in the forests bordering these mountains, and likely had similar capital cities to the one of Lothlórien and the one of Mirkwood, and similar architecture, as well.
Because the Orocarni were far to the east, they were not visited by the Eldar, and the Edain did not reach them until the Fourth Age. The Orocarni do not appear in any of the tales of the Red Book of Westmarch. However, it is known that the mountains were extremely rich with every kind of mineral, bursting at the seams with them.[citation needed]
Adaptations
The Eastern Dwarfs is a book series about the four dwarf houses in the far east of Middle Earth.
| Mountain Ranges of Arda |
|---|
|
Ash Mountains | Blue Mountains | Echoriad | Ephel Dúath | Ered Gorgoroth | Ered Lómin | Ered Wethrin | Grey Mountains (north) | Grey Mountains (south) | Iron Hills | Iron Mountains | Misty Mountains | Mountains of Angmar | Mountains of Mirkwood | Mountains of Mithrim | Mountains of the Wind | Orocarni | Pelóri | Walls of the Sun | White Mountains | Yellow Mountains |
| Dwarven Realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | |
|---|---|
| Years of the Trees & First Age: | Bar-en-Nibin-Noeg | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Nulukkizdîn | Iron Hills | Blue Mountains |
| Second Age: | Khazad-dûm | Belegost | Nogrod | Mount Gundabad | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
| Third Age: | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Dunland |
| Fourth Age: | Glittering Caves | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills |
Translations around the world
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Dutch | De Orocarni |
| Hungarian | Vörös-hegység |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 紅山脈 |
| Russian | Орокарни |
References
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Introduction"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter III: "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
